Home LivingSmart HomeiRobot Roomba Combo J9+ review: a commendable hybrid robot vac with swappable mopsSit back and relax while the new iRobot Roomba Combo J9+ sweeps and mops your floors in sterling styleWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: iRobot)T3 VerdictLooking for a robotic vacuum cleaner that also mops like an Olympic curling sweeper going for gold? That’ll be the new iRobot Roomba Combo J9+. This no-mess model eschews a self-cleaning regime in favour of hot-swappable mops, so if you don’t fancy the thought of emptying tankfuls of smelly water, this is the hybrid model for you.Reasons to buy+It vacs and mops+Excellent vacuum performance+Self-emptying docking bay+Mop automatically lifts on carpet+Uses replaceable mop heads+Great mopping performanceReasons to avoid-No mop-cleaning system-Dock not especially attractiveWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Home LivingSmart HomeiRobot Roomba Combo J9+ review: a commendable hybrid robot vac with swappable mopsSit back and relax while the new iRobot Roomba Combo J9+ sweeps and mops your floors in sterling styleWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: iRobot)T3 VerdictLooking for a robotic vacuum cleaner that also mops like an Olympic curling sweeper going for gold? That’ll be the new iRobot Roomba Combo J9+. This no-mess model eschews a self-cleaning regime in favour of hot-swappable mops, so if you don’t fancy the thought of emptying tankfuls of smelly water, this is the hybrid model for you.Reasons to buy+It vacs and mops+Excellent vacuum performance+Self-emptying docking bay+Mop automatically lifts on carpet+Uses replaceable mop heads+Great mopping performanceReasons to avoid-No mop-cleaning system-Dock not especially attractiveWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Sit back and relax while the new iRobot Roomba Combo J9+ sweeps and mops your floors in sterling style
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: iRobot)T3 VerdictLooking for a robotic vacuum cleaner that also mops like an Olympic curling sweeper going for gold? That’ll be the new iRobot Roomba Combo J9+. This no-mess model eschews a self-cleaning regime in favour of hot-swappable mops, so if you don’t fancy the thought of emptying tankfuls of smelly water, this is the hybrid model for you.Reasons to buy+It vacs and mops+Excellent vacuum performance+Self-emptying docking bay+Mop automatically lifts on carpet+Uses replaceable mop heads+Great mopping performanceReasons to avoid-No mop-cleaning system-Dock not especially attractive
(Image credit: iRobot)
(Image credit: iRobot)
T3 VerdictLooking for a robotic vacuum cleaner that also mops like an Olympic curling sweeper going for gold? That’ll be the new iRobot Roomba Combo J9+. This no-mess model eschews a self-cleaning regime in favour of hot-swappable mops, so if you don’t fancy the thought of emptying tankfuls of smelly water, this is the hybrid model for you.Reasons to buy+It vacs and mops+Excellent vacuum performance+Self-emptying docking bay+Mop automatically lifts on carpet+Uses replaceable mop heads+Great mopping performanceReasons to avoid-No mop-cleaning system-Dock not especially attractive
T3 VerdictLooking for a robotic vacuum cleaner that also mops like an Olympic curling sweeper going for gold? That’ll be the new iRobot Roomba Combo J9+. This no-mess model eschews a self-cleaning regime in favour of hot-swappable mops, so if you don’t fancy the thought of emptying tankfuls of smelly water, this is the hybrid model for you.
T3 Verdict
Looking for a robotic vacuum cleaner that also mops like an Olympic curling sweeper going for gold? That’ll be the new iRobot Roomba Combo J9+. This no-mess model eschews a self-cleaning regime in favour of hot-swappable mops, so if you don’t fancy the thought of emptying tankfuls of smelly water, this is the hybrid model for you.
Reasons to buy+It vacs and mops+Excellent vacuum performance+Self-emptying docking bay+Mop automatically lifts on carpet+Uses replaceable mop heads+Great mopping performanceReasons to avoid-No mop-cleaning system-Dock not especially attractive
Reasons to buy+It vacs and mops+Excellent vacuum performance+Self-emptying docking bay+Mop automatically lifts on carpet+Uses replaceable mop heads+Great mopping performance
It vacs and mops
Excellent vacuum performance
Self-emptying docking bay
Mop automatically lifts on carpet
Uses replaceable mop heads
Great mopping performance
Reasons to avoid-No mop-cleaning system-Dock not especially attractive
No mop-cleaning system
Dock not especially attractive
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
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Welcome to T3’s review of the new iRobot Roomba Combo J9+, arobot vacuum cleanerthat also mops the floor using replaceable mops fitted to an auto-retracting mopping mechanism that raises whenever the robot’s camera and sensors detect carpet or rugs.
It’s all been a bit quiet on the iRobot front recently so it’s good to see the US-based company back with another sterling autonomous floor-cleaning bot… even if there isn’t a massive difference between the new Roomba Combo J9+ we’re looking at here and its stablemate, the cheaperRoomba Combo J7+.
The Roomba J9+ is available in three configurations: this 2-in-1 Combo version with self-emptying Clean Base and onboard water reservoir for automatic refilling of the robot’s mop reservoir; the non-mopping J9+ with standard self-emptying Clean Base; and the basic J9 comprising just the robot vacuum and no mopping or automatic bin emptying function.
So let’s get down to the nitty gritty and see how well the Roomba Combo J9+ performs at both vacuuming and mopping, and whether it should soar to to the top of our guide to thebest robot mopsmoney can buy.
iRobot Roomba Combo J9+ review: price and availability
As of writing, the iRobot Roomba Combo J9+ is available in the UK direct from theiRobot store, priced at a knockdown £899. However you can also expect it to hitamazon.co.ukpretty soon.
If you’re shopping Stateside for the Roomba Combo J9+, consideriRobot’s US storewhere it retails at $1,399.99 orAmazon USwhere you can snap it up for 99 cents less.
iRobot Roomba Combo J9+ review: design
(Image credit: iRobot)
(Image credit: iRobot)
The J9 robot itself is as elegantly styled as any of its predecessors and comes with just one button on top to start, pause or resume a cleaning session. Nevertheless, pretty much everything to do with the J9 bot is controlled via the accompanying iRobot app which I will discuss further below.
The robot itself is 32.5cm in diameter though the two centrally-mounted ribbed rubber rollers are only 17cm in length and that means only 17cm of floor space is vacuumed at any one time. Like the majority of robot vacs, the J9 is also equipped with a spinning side brush on the right which should normally fling dust and debris along skirting boards into the path of its suction portal. However, its circular shape means that some dust will inevitably remain in most corners of a room – par for the course with all circular robot vacs.
iRobot Roomba Combo J9+ review: vacuum features
(Image credit: iRobot)
(Image credit: iRobot)
The new Roomba Combo J9+ comes with a smorgasbord of features, including three levels of suction power and automatic Carpet Boost mode. iRobot fails to list how many Pascals of power the J9 robot has, preferring instead to say that it has ‘100% more suction power’. I expect it to be in the region of 5,000 to 5,500Pa – the Roborock S8 Pro Ultra is rated at 6,000Pa – which is easily powerful enough for the majority of real-world cleaning scenarios.
Rather cleverly, the J9 also features Dirt Detective, a self-learning software add-on that remembers where the dirtiest parts of the home are. The idea is that it will clean the dirtiest rooms first while adjusting suction power and mop scrubbing motions in the process. It seemed to work very well in my tests.
iRobot Roomba Combo J9+ review: mop features
(Image credit: iRobot)
(Image credit: iRobot)
Like most hybrid robot vacs, the Combo J9+ is fitted with a static, rear-mounted wet mopping pad that drags along the floor while picking up dust and even tackling both wet and dried stains. However, the majority of cheaper vac mops are not able to discern the difference between hard floors and carpet and those that can will simply avoid carpet altogether.
Roborock was one of the first manufacturers to feature a vibrating rear mop that raises a few centimetres whenever the robot’s sensors detect carpet. It works remarkably well in most instances. Conversely, iRobot has opted for a more dependable method for raising its mop whenever the vac-bot is on carpet. Consequently, its whole mopping plate retracts outwards and upwards so it comes to rest on top of the unit. This means it is impossible for the mop to dampen even the deepest of carpets.
If the thought of handling mucky parts covered in pet hair and a stinky water tank gives you the heebie jeebies, then the iRobot system would likely be your best bet. There is no mess involved with this system, especially if you just lob the dirty mop into the washing machine. Simply remove the dirty mop and fit the second one that comes in the box, and perhaps buy a few extra mop heads as backup.
iRobot Roomba Combo J9+ review: navigation
The iRobot J9 bot is slow to map a floor space so be patient, it will complete the process in its own time(Image credit: Future)
The iRobot J9 bot is slow to map a floor space so be patient, it will complete the process in its own time
The iRobot J9 bot is slow to map a floor space so be patient, it will complete the process in its own time
(Image credit: Future)
iRobot prefers to use a front camera and sensor system for navigation instead of LiDAR. The downside to this is that it takes much longer for an iRobot vac to initially map a home than, say, a Roborock which uses LiDAR for near instantaneous room mapping. On the plus side, a non LiDAR model like the J9 will happily punch through a bed or sofa valance and clean underneath while most LiDAR-navigated robots will see the valance as an impenetrable wall.
After turning on the J9 and syncing it to my home wi-fi – a doddlesome process – I tapped the ‘clean everywhere’ option on the app and off it trundled. Now, my downstairs area is entirely open-planned so I expected the J9 to have no problems in navigating and mapping the whole living space. What I didn’t anticipate was the time it took to perform the task.
For some reason the J9’s first run completely omitted the kitchen and hallway. In fact, it stayed in the lounge and dining areas without going through the hall doorway or even the wide space into the kitchen. On day two it did much the same thing, though it did venture into three feet of the hallway before retreating again. I checked the map on the app and, sure enough, it had only mapped the lounge-cum-dining area.
Day three was cause for celebration because the bot finally ventured into both the hall and the kitchen and when I checked the map, there they were. All I had to do was move or delete some automatically generated boundaries so I could name each room individually. The moral of the story is to let the bot do its thing in its own time – and this pretty much applies to most camera-based robot vacuum cleaners.
Once full mapping had been completed, I commanded the J9 to clean the entire ground floor and it performed one of the longest and most extensive cleaning regimes I’ve ever come across. Very impressed. Mind, I should add that the J9 does bump into walls and obstacles a lot though it does do it gently – but not gently enough to avoid light scuffing on the robot’s outer casing.
One of the J9’s best navigation facets is its ability to avoid obstacles like wires, toys and even dog poo and not run slipshod over them. Its Genius Home Intelligence software plays a big part in this because there’s a bank of images like wires, socks and several styles of doggy poo in its database so it can easily recognise different objects as it approaches.
iRobot Roomba Combo J9+ review: Clean Base
(Image credit: iRobot)
(Image credit: iRobot)
In addition to automatically emptying the contents of the robot’s onboard dustbin into the dock’s bigger bagged bin, this model’s Clean Base is also equipped with a large water reservoir that automatically tops up the robot’s own tiny water container that sits just above its internal bin. This means you don’t have to keep filling the robot’s water tank which is the case with its cheaper sibling, the Combo S7+. However, as mentioned above, this charging dock doesn’t come with any kind of mop cleaning mechanism so you will need to fit a fresh mop and clean the dirty one yourself.
It’s not really a negative, but all robot vacs’ self-emptying systems are really noisy and none can hold a candle to the J7+ for sheer ear-shattering volume. It’s a relief to say that the Combo J9+’s Clean Base is about a thousand times quieter and far less high pitched. In fact, I’d say that it’s the quietest self-emptying process of any robot vac I’ve ever reviewed. Well done to iRobot’s designers – you clever little sausages.
According to iRobot, you should get at least a month’s worth of muck and hair into the Clean Base’s disposable bag and you won’t need to hunt around for another one because the spare is stored neatly in an inside door compartment.
iRobot Roomba Combo J9+ review: vacuum performance
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Crucially, it has also ventured under the valance of my sofa and given everything a good sweep beneath. Yes, its navigation can be a bit erratic but that’s the case with all robot vacs – you never know where they’ll go next.
iRobot Roomba Combo J9+ review: mopping performance
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Conversely, if you have tiled, Linoleum or polished concrete floors, set the mopping in the app to medium or full wetness and rest safe in the knowledge that everything will look spick and span without having to reach for that oh-so-last-century option, the old-fashioned mop and bucket.
iRobot Roomba Combo J9+ review: iRobot app
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
iRobot’s app interface is pretty easy to navigate though there are a few anomalies. Take mapping, for instance. Normally it’s best to initially select a ‘mapping’ run when you first run the bot. This is so the robot can use all its battery energy to map the whole home in one go without any vacuuming or mopping. Although the ‘mapping only’ function is available in the app, it’s buried in a submenu.
iRobot Roomba Combo J9+ review: verdict
(Image credit: iRobot)
(Image credit: iRobot)
iRobot has adopted a different method to the norm with this new 2-in-1 model. Yes, it still automatically empties the contents of the robot’s onboard dustbin, but instead of washing the mop after every cleaning session, you simply pop the dirty mop in the washing machine and instal a fresh one. This method avoids having to empty stinky dirty water containers and getting down on hands and knees to scrub the dock’s mop cleaning system.
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iRobot Roomba Combo j9+: Price Comparison
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